12/10/14

Come on in! | Take a peek at the progress in my new apartment

I've been calling this lovely little Victorian duplex my home for about a month now. And in that month, I've been busy painting walls, arranging furniture, and unpacking boxes. I still still have a long way to go because I'm completely "settled in," but it's coming together nicely and I thought I'd share a progress update with before and after shots. (Because in the past, I've been super lousy at remembering to take such photos.)

The kitchen, bathroom, and front entry room will have to wait for another time since hardly any progress has been made in those areas. But I'm ready to welcome you into my living room, bedroom, and office for a quick visit.

The following photos are just quick, in-the-moment snapshots from my phone, so excuse some of the poor lighting and graininess.

Here's the living room. It was originally the dining room of the house. But with the big bay window, central location, and three-prong power electrical outlets, it seemed better suited to use as my living room. (I tried arranging my living room furniture in the front room, but it just wasn't working.)

As you can see here, the walls in the living room were a pale green – with white showing through. One of the previous tenants sadly painted over the hardwood floors with black paint. :( I'm hoping to take on the challenge of unmasking the hardwood underneath, but it seems like a daunting and possibly expensive project.

Since I'm decorating my living room with a purple, orange, and turquoise color scheme, I decided to paint the walls Pittsburgh Paints' Pale Plum – a medium purple with a hint of orchid. (Of course, no painting project is completed without some "work beers" – Schlafly's session Yakima Wheat Ale in this case.)

I snapped this photo late at night with the curtains closed and a light bulb out, so the lighting is less than bright and sunny. But you can see the orchidy purple walls, the dark plum accent wall, and how my furniture and decor is coming together. Yes, those curtains need a good ironing. (I've since decorating more!)

The first room I took on was the office. It's a small second bedroom connected to the main bedroom via a closet as well as the front entry room. Originally, it was this shade of buttery yellow – like, movie popcorn buttery yellow. Not a bad color, but not inspiring for a creative space.

Covering that yellow with yellowy green didn't seem like it'd be that difficult – but boy, was it a feat! The yellow kept bleeding through, so it took a couple coats and several touch-ups. In the end, I'm in love with how the bright green freshened up the small space.

Again, another dark photo snapped in the evening. The desk definitely isn't this sparse anymore – plus, I've brought in my bookcases, typewriters, a chair, and more to occupy the space. I can't wait until I actually have the time to sit down and blog or write in here.

Last but definitely not least... welcome to the bedroom. This is looking in from the living room through one of my pairs of French pocket doors (which I absolutely adore, btw). At some point in the home's past, this room was a tween's space – hence the lavender walls, giant purple diamonds, and purple felt light switch cover (not pictured).

This is how I lived for a couple weeks. Random black curtains to cover the window. Mismatched furniture. And those giant diamonds glaring at me before bed every night. Ugh.

Covering up the lavender was Pittsburgh Paints' Antique Silver was not only easy, but also soooo much easier on the eyes. Though I will say that painting along the wall/ceiling meeting in a room with 9-foot ceilings is quite the challenge. I stood on a chair and on tip toes. (My calves got a workout.)

Isn't that gray lovely?! I adore how the red pops against it. I'll use red curtains in here during the colder months and probably swap them out for easy, breezy, gauzy white curtains in the spring and summer. I tried about fifteen different nightstand combinations and the ones in this picture are not the ones I chose. I have yet to dig out my proper colorful bedding and find a fluffy white rug to put next to the bed on those gorgeous hardwood floors, but I'm already so much happier in this space without the purple diamonds.

Soon, I'll be sharing more progress as I further decorate these rooms. Then eventually, I'll be sharing my progress on making over the kitchen, bathroom, and front room.